1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sink mats for protecting dishes and glasses from being broken when being put into or taken from sinks and to protect the sinks from chipping or being scratched, and in particular to sink mats for use in different sizes and shapes of sinks.
2. Description of the Prior Developments
Sink mats are well known, particularly for use in kitchens. Sink mats both protect porcelain and other coated sinks from chipping and for protecting metal sinks from being scratched by dishware, cookware and dinnerware in the sinks, as well as to protect dinnerware from being broken when disposed in sinks. Sinks come in many sizes, and many sinks are in use which are double sinks, one adjacent the other. Various means are known for adapting sink mats to accommodate these different types of sinks. The simplest way is to protect a sink is to put a sink mat in the sink, hoping that it will lie flat in the sink. If the sink mat is too small, the edges of the sink extending from beneath the sink mat are prone to the damage referred to above. If the sink mat is too large for the sink, the sink mat folds over on itself, both decreasing the size of the sink and leading to problems for the space between the folds in the sink mat and the sink base and walls. Products are on the market having different size sink mats, but this requires the buyer to measure the sink or sinks, and then look for mats which nearly exactly meet those sizes in order to lie flat in the sinks. It is also known in the art to take purchased sink mats, which are too large for particular sinks, and to cut them down to meet the size of the sink. This is, in effect, customizing the sink mat for particular sinks. This requires time and some care to properly customize the sink mat, and a mistake in the cutting could require the purchase of a new sink mat. There are on the market Circo trimmable sink mats which are particularly designed to be cut and custom fit to particular sizes of sinks, but this incorporates the same shortcomings noted above. In addition, while many sinks have square or rectangular bases, some sinks are bowl-shaped or have irregular configurations which render customizing of sink mats more difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,856 (Dore 1998) discloses a soft, pliable mat having a rectangular base and four rectangular flaps which extend up the walls of the sink and onto the surrounding countertop or dividing wall with a second sink. This sink mat thus has four large flaps which, while perhaps solving their intended purpose of protecting the entire sink and the surrounding countertop from excessive wear and a tendency to become grimy from greasy hands as well as being a splashguard, it does have serious disadvantages. First, it would be unsightly to have such a large sink mat remain in the sink because it not only covers the sink but the countertop and any walls around the sink. Furthermore, if it were left in place, any water or dirt left beneath the flaps would be unhygienic and unsightly when the mat is lifted up. Additionally, the exterior and downwardly-facing sides of the respective mats would have to be cleaned since water from the faucet would not rinse them off during use. Moreover, storage of such a mat would be a problem since each flap would have to be folded or rolled, and a storage space would be required to store this mat in its compacted condition.
What is needed is a single sink mat which could be placed in virtually every sink, lies flat against the base of the sink, automatically becomes configured to engage the walls of any sink having a base too small to receive the entire mat against its base and is able to engage a portion of the walls of the sink without being folded. Such a sink mat could thus come in a single size, would serve all of the purposes of sink mats as noted above, and would require no more than simply purchasing the mat—no cutting would be required. The desired mat should be soft and pliable to render its protective purposes, have sufficient apertures for the desired drainage, and preferably would be both long lasting and inexpensive.